Voip

VOIP is the next generation of phone systems. VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) enables companies or individuals with the ability of using a computer as a phone. This technology has been around for a while but is really beginning to grow. With VOIP land phone lines will become obsolete because less and less people will need a separate phone line when all they have to do is plug a phone into their pc. One such example of VOIP has been used by Allstate Insurance Co.

During the after the hurricanes Rita and Katrina, Allstate set up two remote locations in an effort to help displaced claims adjusters and insurance agents to be able to take calls from insured victims. The main purpose for VOIP was the convenience of mobility because of the disasters that had disrupted land line communications. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 206 phones were deployed and in Mobile, Alabama 300 were deployed so that calls could be switch easily to a call center agents miles away. Because of the VOIP deployment of the Gulf Coast disasters, and the added efforts of newly hired agents across the U.S., insurance claims were processed more quickly because Allstate was able to have a faster response time for disaster victims.

As a result of the VOIP deployment, Allstate had begun recruiting more and more VOIP phones for company use because of the cheaper cost and less need for equipment. By 2004, Allstate had 10,000 VOIP phones and have grown in numbers since.

The advantages of VOIP are many but the greatest is mobility without extra cost and equipment to the user. In addition, companies can have multiple outgoing and incoming calls over a single broadband connection without having to purchase multiple phone lines. VOIP is becoming even more integrate with other services such as fax, video conferencing, file sharing during conversations, etc.

Voice Over Internet Protocol will be the next generation of communications without the high cost of cellular...